Market shrugs off potential AB Ports bid 27 Mar 2006 The news was hardly surprising. After all, the ports operator is the only sizable UK infrastructure asset left to buy. But will the rumoured £2.3bn materialise? There s not much to do at ABP. And infrastructure investors have been stingy lately.
Karstadt comes up with clever E4.5bn property deal 27 Mar 2006 The German retailer has sold its property portfolio to a joint venture with Goldman Sachs. This has shifted its debts off the balance sheet. That s smart if Karstadt can really turn itself round. But it reduces the group s flexibility if things go wrong.
BPI may pass the hat round – again 27 Mar 2006 The scandalridden Italian bank s attempt to raise capital last summer for its bid for Antonveneta was a blueprint of what not to do. This time BPI needs to be whiter than white and show why a capital increase would be better than selling the bank.
Tesco considers putting the Reit in UK retail 24 Mar 2006 As one of the UK s biggest property owners, Tesco is an obvious candidate for putting its £12bn freeholds into a listed vehicle. The retail group s stability would make a Tesco Reit attractive to investors too. The risk is that less suitable candidates follow suit.
Arcelor considers Dofasco poison pill – WSJ 24 Mar 2006 The embattled steel group may try to stop Mittal from selling on Dofasco, a Canadian group Arcelor has just acquired, to ThyssenKrupp. Such a scheme would make a mockery of Arcelor s claims that it is acting in shareholder interests rather than just trying to block Mittal.
Fiat overtakes GM in value 24 Mar 2006 The Italian industrial company just two years ago looked set to be swallowed by GM. Now it s 20% more valuable. Apart from savouring the irony of this stunning reversal of fortunes, is there a lesson the Italians might teach GM and its investors?
AMF should reject Suez put up or shut up demand 24 Mar 2006 The French stock market regulator mustn t be bullied into forcing Italy s Enel to show its hand over its planned bid for the French utility. After all, Suez has put itself in play. Shareholders would be furious if the AMF denied the Italians adequate time to prepare a new bid.
Fifth Third CEO deserves no confidence vote 24 Mar 2006 The $22bn Ohio bank has become a basket case under George Schaefer s recent tenure. Earnings have crumbled and top managers have fled. With no clear turnaround in sight and troubles mounting, Fifth Third needs a more suitable leader.
Weyerhaeuser should split up 24 Mar 2006 The $18bn US forest products firm trades at a substantial discount to the value of its assets. Its stock has lagged peers in recent years. It could create shareholder value by cutting its timber business free.
Alcatel should be wary of acquiring Lucent 24 Mar 2006 The last time the French and US telecom kit makers tried to merge in 2001, they failed because they couldn't agree who would run the group. This time it is more clear. It's easy to see why Lucent would sell itself. The question is should Alcatel buy a company that is still weak.
GM closes commercial mortgage sale to KKR 23 Mar 2006 By selling a 78% stake, GM s finance unit captures $1.7bn of cash. That s helpful, but it s just a fraction of GMAC s book value. This piece of GMAC was always going to be the easy sell. The GMAC auction is still troubled. Death by 1000 cuts is still not averted.
Morrison plan poses more questions than it answers 23 Mar 2006 The UK supermarket hopes it can finally shake off the twoyear indigestion it has suffered since swallowing rival Safeway. But there's still no sign of a new chief executive to carry it out. That could make the "optimisation plan" little more than a sop.
Capita’s Aldridge falls on his sword 23 Mar 2006 The chairman of the UK services group has resigned after the disclosure of a £1m loan to the Labour party. It s an ironic twist. Labour has been good for Capita, and Aldridge may have wanted to return the favour. But it all went terribly wrong.
British Airways partly grasps £2bn pensions deficit nettle 23 Mar 2006 BA s plan to boost contributions and cut benefits will plug much of its whopping pension gap but not completely close it. So its ability to pay a dividend or upgrade its fleet has now improved but by how much is still not clear.
Bayer’s E16bn bid for Schering looks like a winner 23 Mar 2006 The German conglomerate is acting as Schering's white knight. Its bid of E86 per share trounces Merck's hostile offer of E77. Merck will be hard pressed to beat this offer. Bayer has greater synergies with Schering than Merck does.
ITV would have ceded control for sellable deal – exclusive 23 Mar 2006 The UK broadcaster s board might have accepted a deal that locked in the consortium for longer and offered a cash alternative. These demands don't look wildly onerous. Charles Allen is pretty lucky to survive.
Changes in US fuel rules lag the market 23 Mar 2006 The White House is considering forcing SUVs and light trucks to adopt the same fuel economy standards applied to cars. That s fine. But the market has already done its dirty work. High petrol prices are killing this segment for GM and others.
Sovereign reaches truce with activist shareholder 23 Mar 2006 The US bank now selling a stake to Santander will nominate two outside directors, including the head of hedge fund Relational. This comes at a price Relational rescinds its demands for the CEO s head. But fold in the Spanish and the pressure is on.
FSA steps up pressure on hedge funds 23 Mar 2006 The regulator is worried about inaccurate reporting of fund valuations and side letters giving preferential liquidity to larger investors. Fortunately the FSA is not suggesting extra regulation. But it may be looking to claim scalps to prove it is on top of the problem.
ITV approach too greedy 23 Mar 2006 Goldman will need to inject more capital or leave existing shareholders with more of the equity if its scheme is to fly. Particularly as ITV could gear itself up, find a new boss and even look for a white knight.
Protectionism may claim another victim 23 Mar 2006 Dubai is delaying its purchase of a UK engineering group. It won t continue without US government approval. That doesn t look likely, since Doncasters sells to the US military. The US will eventually regret alienating its oilrich friends.
Sanofi’s Plavix payoff looks dubious 22 Mar 2006 The French drug maker and BristolMyers have agreed to pay a company to delay introducing a generic version of the bestselling drug. Investors are betting this legally challengeable agreement will stand up to scrutiny by competition authorities. But that's uncertain.
Endesa shouldn’t take Gas Natural to court 22 Mar 2006 There's no point. Gas Natural's bid has been trumped by E.on's far higher bid. Indeed, the lawsuit may actually put that bid in jeopardy. The Endesa board may conclude it s not worth the risk.
Sanpaolo shouldn’t be tempted by ho-hum merger 22 Mar 2006 The E29bn Italian bank should be engaging in a vigorous costcutting takeover of one of its smaller rivals. But that's not its style. The worry is that, out of a desire to avoid being bought by big shareholder Santander, it might instead go for a lowimpact merger with MPS.
Brown’s budget confidence is misplaced 22 Mar 2006 The UK chancellor is content just meeting his targets, however barely. He thinks the growth numbers speak for themselves. But their message is actually quite mixed. Deficits have soared in order to fund investment. And there is not much to show for it.
Enel bid may flounder through lack of political support at home 22 Mar 2006 The Italian centre left, which is likely to take power next month, now seems at best lukewarm about Enel making a hostile bid for Suez. If Enel's board postpones a decision on whether to bid until after the April elections, that may be the end of its ambitions.
Morgan Stanley gets payback for taking more risk 22 Mar 2006 A great proprietary trading result saw the Wall Street firm handsomely beat expectations in Q1. The problem is that investment banking and asset management were weak. And these are the areas that investors should value most.
Arcelor shouldn’t sell minority stake to Russian oligarch 22 Mar 2006 Reports that Russia s third richest man, Vladimir Lisin, wants a 15% stake in the Luxembourg steel company are faintly worrying. If he buys in the market, fine. But if Arcelor sells him shares, that could block Mittal s hostile bid, hurting other shareholders.
Goldman, Blackstone and Apax try to nab ITV on the cheap 22 Mar 2006 By taking a £1.5bn stake in the UK broadcaster and gearing up, private equity would effectively control ITV without paying a premium. Sure, investors would get to ride on the coattails of private equity. But the alternative is to do it themselves.
Vivendi agitators have the right idea 22 Mar 2006 A US private equity group has taken a small stake in the French media group with the aim of breaking it up. Great idea. But France's establishment is unlikely to let its champion go to pieces, especially at the hands of a group with questionable credentials.